Thank You
by Fangtom
Summary: (WW2 Fic) What most don't know is that Germany had a close relationship with China between the world wars. A great period of cooperation was forged between the two countries that would become crucial in Germany's economic struggle and China's looming war against Japan. Until then, it was a convenient friendship... torn by a world of violence, communism, and horrible cruelty.


**Thank You, Chapter 1**

* * *

 _ **-Some short time after World War I-**_

 _"Come with me you god damn wanker."_

 _After the end of World War I, the new Treaty of Versailles strangled Germany and forced him onto his knees. He took full guilt for the war, and was forced to limit his army 100,000 soldiers and pay war reparations._

 _But there was one more score Britain and France wanted to settle, in a more personal way..._

 _A tired, restrained Germany was pushed from behind by England, who held him at gunpoint with a rifle was accompanied by France and some bodyguards from both countries. They walked him to the public center of Berlin under the Brandenburg gate and stopped there. England handed his rifle to one of his soldiers, walked up to Germany, and punched him in the face. The tall European country fell to the cobblestone with a bloodied notes, and to the humiliation of the watching Germans, he did nothing to retaliate._

 _"That's for all the shite you put everyone through. Bastard!"_

 _The German took the insults and said nothing to maintain his ever calm and composed exterior, but admittedly, the indignation and shame was burning at his insides._

 _And it only intensified when France took his turn to kick him in the stomach. The emotional and physical pain blurred together in one blistering sensation, but Germany still bit back his screams of pain as France continued to kick his body, his matted blonde hair flailing wildly._

 _"All the young men, décédé! Dead! May God punish you!"_

 _France landed a dozen or so kicks before he stepped back with short breaths. He fixed his hair and stormed off, with the British tailing behind._

 _Germany noticed France's kick was way weaker than he remembered, having been kicked by the Frenchman several times during the war. It wasn't a show of mercy, but rather, how tired and beaten France was after the bloody conflict_

 _The public humiliation would circle for decades, especially among the political parties in the Reichstag..._

 _Ludwig walked back to his home after the beating, still trying to put up a strong image even as his bruises were on full display._

* * *

Ludwig took a long chug from his beer mug before slamming it onto the table in his kitchen. It was his 8th bottle.

His industrial output was severely limited as a direct effect from the treaty, but worse was the hyperinflation running rampant in his economy.

Ludwig groaned as the headache in his head grew worse at the thought. His incompetent Weimar's only hope at paying back the Allies their reparations was to print a ton of paper money. Sure, they didn't really have a choice, but anyone with any economic sense knew what that led to... Right now one of America's dollars was worth 48 of his paper marks, which was bad... but it'll only get worse if the government continues to print more money.

He's tired. He's hungry. And frustrated. Just like every other German in his lands. If this continued, someone is bound to do something crazy, he just knew it! He needed to search for ANYTHING that could help curb his failing economy.

"Vat are you doing, bro?"

Ludwig groaned, "I'm tired, Gilbert."

Prussia feigned shock. "West! Don't tell me you've grown tired of beer!"

"Not now."

The albino sighed, "I know. Things are kinda shitty these days. The economy's bust, and the Allies won't get off our asses until they squeeze every mark out of our buttocks."

" _Don't..._ remind me," Ludwig took another chug at his beer and slumped into his arms. "What are we going to do?"

Gilbert smirked, "Of course you're asking me, your superior older bruder."

"I was being rhetorical."

"And I'm actually serious. Let's see here..." Gilbert poured his own glass of beer. "What I'd like to do is get our economy back up to speed. The occupation of the Ruhr's a huge pain in the pass, fucking French snob."

"I don't see how we'll be able to do that. We have no resources, and we're too poor to buy more, even with the arms business we're doing on the side."

The treaty did not stop Germany from being the best in military innovation, and despite the hunger thinning his muscles, his industry still had the tools and knowledge to build top-quality military equipment. He had reached out to prospecting nations like Argentina and his hated rival, the Soviet Union, to legally sell weapons for profit.

But he needed more...

"What about China?"

"China?"

"Yeah. Tiny asian guy? Cut his hair recently? Got his ass kicked by everyone?"

"I don't see what China has to do with this..."

Gilbert frowned, "Have you been paying attention to international affairs?"

The headache in Ludwig's head intensified. "Not recently," he admitted.

"Tch. Luckily you have me. Long story short, that Yuan Shi-kai guy kicked the bucket, and now China's country is torn in civil war. Lots of fighting to be done with millions of soldiers running around. And it gets better, everyone knows it'll only be a matter of time before Japan makes his next grab for land."

The gears were slowly clicking in Ludwig's alcohol-ridden brain, "The Chinese political storm and civil war presents a huge market for arms trade and military assistance. We could make a deal... if we weren't still at war."

"Oh yeah. China didn't come to Versailles. I think he's still super pissed about Japan keeping the Chinese cities you used to have."

"Exactly. He hates me like he hates everyone these days. I don't think it's going to work."

Gilbert sighed, "You might as well. We're getting desperate here, and I'd much rather not have my bread cost a million marks next year. China wants to unite his country fast, and to do that, he'll need us to teach him how to pimp up his industry. Our arms producers are already suggesting we do it."

Ludwig dazed off as he pondered the idea. Gilbert repeated himself, this time with a stern voice he rarely used. "Come on, Bruder. Do _something._ "

He sighed.

What a convenient coincidence...

* * *

 **-May 20, 1921, Beijing-**

Ludwig walked down the streets of the bustling city, showing no attention to the peoples' curious stares towards his tall, blonde, foreign appearance with a mixture of ambivalence and scorn.

Yep. China's people still hated the West, and perhaps their reason to hold that grudge was fair this time.

He ignored their glares as he entered the grounds of the Forbidden City. The cultural site of China did not amaze him anymore than the Brandenburg gate - he's walked its grounds on several instances in the past decades. Chinese soldiers escorted him and his German entourage to a reserved building for their meeting.

The German country passed the minutes of the tense escorting process by observing the Chinese soldiers. As a powerful military nation up until WWI, Ludwig scrutinized their appearance with a critical eye, and he was able to pick up details in a soldier most people would never even consider.

An obvious flaw was their uniform, which was a bright blue and did not include a helmet in place of an unprotected peaked cap. It would be excusable for diplomatic escorts, but he knew they also used these conspicuous uniforms on the actual battlefield. Adding with their outdated, sloppy weapons, and how undisciplined their body language revealed, they were clearly unfamiliar with war as brutal as the one he fought.

If Japan decided to fight China again, surmised Ludwig, the older nation was going to get destroyed on the field of battle.

One of the soldiers spoke to him, "Zhongguo will meet you in a moment."

"Thank you," said Ludwig politely. He sat on an intricately carved wooden chair behind a quaint wooden table, with his fellow countrymen standing behind him diligently carrying the necessary paperwork.

A minute past before China entered the room.

At first glance, he looked just like the moment he declared his republican government to the world. His hair was cut short instead of his usual ponytail, and he dressed like a westerner. Only now instead of a gentlemanly suit, he wore an outrageously decorated blue warlord uniform pinned with over a dozen medals and epaulettes on his shoulders (which Ludwig thought was quite last season), but at least he wasn't wearing a flashy helmet.

"Germany," said China with thinly fabricated politeness. He was holding a sword, which he set down to stand on the floor, supported by his hand while he sat opposite of Ludwig "What brings a westerner like you here in my country?"

"China," mimicked Ludwig. "I know our diplomatic relations are tense after you declared war on me in World War One."

"Indeed," sneered the asian country. "You should already know I want nothing more to do with you Europeans after the betrayal of Versailles! Tsingtao and Kiautschou rightfully belongs to me, which you took from me in the first place."

"I am well aware of that," said Ludwig, maintaining his even tone. Gilbert taught him to maintain composure in delicate diplomatic situations, who knew the unruly Prussian actually had good tips? The albino also helped him rehearse some potential topics and organize some proposals. Honestly, Ludwig was really grateful for his brother stepping up in his place. "But perhaps we can end our war in favor of resuming a state of peace between us?"

"What if I simply do not want to make peace with the likes of you?" He tapped his sword against the ground. "What deception are you playing at?"

Ludwig raised a calming hand, "No deception, I promise. Listen, the civil war is severely weakening your country, and we both know Japan will seize any moment of weakness to take more of your lands. But... maybe we can make a deal."

China raised a brow, "What sort of deal?"

"I'm suffering through a wretched economic crisis, and your country is perilously vulnerable in the face of Japanese aggression."

The Chinese thinned his lips, his tone became less biting, "Are you offering to sell me weapons?"

"Yes, but let us take a step further," he waved for one of his fellow diplomats to hand over a piece of paper, which he gave for China to read. "There are many German firms, businesses, and industrial investors eager to develop your economy in return for raw resources to help rebuild my economy. If we foster our relationship, perhaps in the near future, we shall see Chinese factories building guns, planes, and tanks. New railroads will be built to fuel the development. More importantly, I can teach you how to improve the quality and overall strength of your army. German officers are willing to work with the Chinese army. You will finally have the strength to resist Japan's aggression."

China's eyes shined to life as he listened, but his face hardened once more. He frowned at Germany, "This seems too good to be true. I hand over Chinese resources to you, so what's the catch?"

Ludwig shook his head, he had expected China to respond that way, "I'm weakened just like you. I don't have any imperialistic incentive to claim your belongings like I did in the past. I'm just one nation looking to make an honest deal with another."

A pregnant pause commenced as China stared at Ludwig, then he sighed, "It... does sound like you're being honest with me. It would be a nice change of pace to receive help other than the Soviet Union. He brings bad fortune in trying to turn me communist from the inside out."

Ludwig chuckled weakly, "Vell. I certainly won't turn you communist. Don't we both hate communism?"

"Yes. That is true." China finally set his sword down to lean by his side. "I am considering your proposal, but there is one more question I would like to ask you. It would be appropriate if it was private."

The German nodded to his entourage to vacate the room.

Once they left. China leaned closer to examine Ludwig to his mild discomfort. The younger nation could tell that China was a _really_ old country, the way his eyes seemed to weigh heavily as they examined him with a hard-forged, experienced gaze.

"Do you have any friends?"

The blunt question caught Ludwig off-guard, "Why do you want to know?"

"I want to know if you had an underlying motive for approaching me. I have watched from afar, Germany, and I know your diplomatic situation is very dire. If you want to continue our discussion, I will demand an answer."

Ludwig didn't want to answer the question at all. But China waited, and Ludwig knew he was expecting a response. "I... No. Austria hasn't spoken to me at all since the War. Not even during work. Same for Hungary. Italy... he barges into my home asking for work, but I don't think we're exactly friends. The only person I'm close to is Prussia, but probably because I live with him."

Germany's struggled to maintain his stoicism and his face faltered, completely confused and uncomfortable with revealing his weaker side so easily. China gazed blankly for a moment before he spoke, "Perhaps so far, we already have more in common than we thought." He pulled out a long piece of paper with written Chinese characters and laid it on the table.

Ludwig couldn't read the symbols, but China clarified it for him. "This is a banner of the May 4th movement. My people are outraged at China's weakness in protecting its own interests from foreign powers. The Treaty of Versailles has angered me just as it angered you. But, I understand the reality. Without foreign aid, China will never get back on its feet. Unfortunately no country besides the wretched bolsheviks would help China modernize."

"Until you came before me on this very day," he continued.

Ludwig allowed a smile to grace his features, "Then perhaps we can become friends from this day forth." He offered his hand, "Freund."

China only stared for a second before he grasped and shook, "Péngyou."

"I suppose we should reintroduce ourselves once more. I am Ludwig Beilschmidt."

"Yao Wang."

 _The Agreement Regarding the Restoration of the State of Peace between Germany and China was signed in May 20, 1921, finally officially ending World War One between the two nations._

* * *

 **A/N:** It's been a while since I wrote a Hetalia fanfic. I'm still a huge fan of anthropomorphic countries and casting them in a more serious light, and after studying some extra history for a few more years, I felt the mood to write a drabble.

The Sino-German cooperation between 1920s to 1937 is a friendship rarely heard in American history studies, but it was SO crucial to China's development that helped decide its fate in the war against Japan in WWII. I was surprised to find not a single Hetalia source from canon and fanon referencing this, so I decided to give it a shot.

Reviews are appreciated for this fledgling story! It's not much for now, but opinions and ideas are certainly welcome!


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